Chuck begins by weighing in on a new Pew Research poll showing a significant drop in President Donald Trump’s approval rating since his inauguration. He highlights the erosion of support among non-voters as a potential warning sign for the president. Chuck also shares his concerns about the administration’s apparent deference to Russia in the latest Ukraine peace agreement.Next, he’s joined by Jon Tester and Maritsa Georgiou to discuss their new podcast, the underrepresentation of middle America in the media, and why members of Congress should spend more time outside the Washington, D.C. bubble.They explore the loss of trust in national media due to the decline of strong local journalism, Congress’s tendency to cede power to the executive branch, the corrupting influence of dark money in politics, and the urgent need for campaign finance reform.The conversation wraps with a discussion about the TV show Yellowstone and its impact—both positive and negative—on their home state of Montana.Finally, Chuck closes out the show by answering a few listener questions in the "Ask Chuck" segment.Timeline:0:00 Introduction2:25 New Pew Research poll released on Trump’s first 100 days3:45 Not surprising Trump’s approval has dropped4:15 Non-voters souring on Trump quickly6:15 Incompetency is defining his first 100 days7:30 Erratic decision making doesn’t inspire confidence9:15 Low information voters are a good barometer10:15 Republican party still has a higher favorability ratings than the Democratic party14:00 Trump is tarnishing the country’s reputation16:15 Trump needs to make some trade deals and put points on the board17:45 The United States government is taking Russia’s side against Ukraine20:40 Jon Tester and Maritsa Georgiou join the show! 21:10 Why start a podcast? 23:10 Most rewarding part? 25:25 Need more voices in media from all over the country, not just the coasts 27:55 The state of local news in Montana 29:10 "The middle" is underrepresented in media 30:40 Where the media is located can warp the perspective 33:10 If Congress convened in places other than DC, things would be very different 34:10 Politicians pit urban vs rural against one another 34:55 Journalists are pulled to the big markets 36:40 Local media was a character reference for the national media 37:55 Without local reporters, important stories can't reach the national media 39:10 There are no more local reporters telling communities what DC is doing for them 41:25 Why has Congress been willing to cede power to the executive? 43:40 Congress has rolled over in the 21st century due to campaign finance 44:40 Dark money's influence on Montana politics 47:05 Money has skewed the system* 48:40 Local news stations run on two year budgets due to election spending 49:40 Campaign finance reform efforts always result in loopholes 50:40 Campaign finance isn't a voting issue53:10 Media has to be an educator 54:55 Voters of both parties are worried about money in politics55:55 Congress needs a NASCAR rule for disclosing donors 56:55 Why is fixing campaign finance so hard? 57:40 Candidates have limits, donors do not 58:40 Most members of Congress have good motivations individually, collectively they become irrational 1:00:20 Senator Lisa Murkowski's comments about fear of retaliation1:02:40 Founders would be appalled by what's happening in DC 1:03:55 Media needs to listen and rebuild trust 1:04:40 The media needs to stand with the AP 1:05:30 Montana's star turn in pop culture due to Taylor Sheridan 1:07:40 What is Sen. Tester watching on TV? 1:10:20 Montana has been "discovered" by the wealthy1:10:50 Chuck’s thoughts on the interview1:11:25 Ask Chuck1:11:55 If you were in charge of the DNC, what changes would you like to see improve their brand?1:13:30 The Democrats haven’t tried to be a 50 state party, they need to go on a listening tour1:17:25 If elections were held a week earlier in 1976 and 2016, would Ford and Clinton have won?(Timestamps vary based on advertisements)
Full Episode
Hello there. It's Chuck Todd. Another episode of the Chuck Todd cast. Got an interesting and fun one for you today. Fun interview with Maritza Giorgio and John Tester. Maritza is a longtime journalist based out of Montana. And she and John Tester started their own podcast earlier this year, as she jokes. They both were looking for work after the election.
And both being Montanans and knowing each other for a while, they've started a fascinating new podcast that tries to you know, take advantage of the fact that too much of political coverage is based out of DC or New York and not enough everywhere else. Well, they're both based in Montana, different parts of Montana, as you'll learn.
Um, but it allowed for a fascinating conversation on the future of independent media, media, the future of the democracy, the future of the democratic party, given we have John Tester there. So, uh, I think you're going to enjoy the conversation. So I urge you to stick around. Um, But look, I am I'm coming to you middle of the week here.
Washington is beginning this weird situation over the next 72 hours. It's becomes it's some people call it nerd prom. It's White House Correspondents Weekend. There's all sorts of people coming to town, all sorts of entities throwing parties. So one thing is for sure, gossip will be sort of lots of gossip out there. But I'm not here to tell you about the White House correspondents gossip.
I'll just tell you this about the dinner. The older I get, the less interested I am in the dinner. Of course, when you're young and new to Washington, you can't wait to get invited to these parties and you're always trying to sneak in. And then, of course, you hit a certain age that that literally it's like the old I think it's a I think it's an old tradition.
It's an old I want to say it's a Groucho Marx expression. I don't know if it is or not, but it's something like if you're inviting me to the party, it must not be good anymore. And it's like now that I'm invited to these things, you don't want to go when you couldn't be invited. You couldn't wait to go. It kind of is the attitude I have.
And I think it's we've discussed this side of you guys, hopefully. remember the conversation Tara Palmieri and I had about this and just sort of how, how this whole weekend has gotten messed up in, in so many ways. But, uh, it is worth noting that you're gonna see, and so you'll probably see a lot of one source gossip making the rounds over the next 72 hours about this or that.
But I wanna kick things off today with sort of a bit of a report card for Donald Trump, because the first decent poll, and let me just put this out there, decent poll, meaning for me, it means it's a poll that I'm gonna care about the cross tabs and care about. The Pew Research Center brought out their, they're the first one out of the gates
At least the first legitimate pollster out of the gates with a with a hundred day check in. Yes, we're not quite at 100 days, but they're essentially there. It's coming up and this will be the first of a lot of polls. The big headline is that Donald Trump's already dropped from. At the start of his presidency, they had him at 47%. He's now sitting at 40%. So that's a pretty low approval.
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